In message , Palindrome
writes
>> This man is not a predatory paedophile. He is a sad inadequate who
>>was looking for an adult companion, and instead found a young girl
>>who wanted to play at being an adult. His crime is not having the
>>strength of character to say no. That is very different from someone
>>who actively seeks out children and instigates abuse.
>> It is absolutely right that he was convicted. It is a reasonable
>>judgement that the public is better protected by giving him a
>>community sentence under which he can have treatment to help him avoid
>>getting into that sort of situation again, rather than sending him to
>>prison where he will get no such treatment. It is equally reasonable
>>to argue that the sentence was on the lenient side, but it is not way
>>outside the spectrum of legitimate responses to the facts of this case.
>
>ISTM that this blurs a very simple message that any 20 year old should
>understand - "JailBait" - "11 years old = jail".
As with all simple messages, it ignores the complexity of the real
world.
Just because a crime *can* result in a prison sentence, that does not
mean that it has to do so in every case.
>
>So why not a jail sentence, plus the rest?
Because the jails are full, and because the reality on the ground today
is that jail would come at the expense of the help this guy needs,
regardless of what *should* be the case.
> Even if just equivalent to the time he has already spent in jail, or
>even if immediately suspended?
Which would still result in the outraged "walked free from Court today"
headlines, and would not have made the slightest difference to what
actually happens to this guy.
>
>However, since when did, "didn't have the strength of character to say
>no" figure as acceptable explanation and acceptable mitigation?
Acceptable explanation? Which bit of "It is absolutely right that he was
convicted" are you having trouble with, Sue?
Legitimate mitigation? Since the day this became a crime. Of course it
is relevant whether this man dragged a kid off the street and forced
himself on her, or persuaded her over time to have . with him, or let
himself be persuaded by her to have . with her. In every single case
it is a crime. In each case the degree of culpability is different.
--
Richard Miller |